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Creative nonfiction

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Creative nonfiction is a genre of literature, also known as literary journalism and narrative journalism, which uses literary skills in the writing of nonfiction. A work of creative nonfiction, if well written, contains accurate and well-researched information and also holds the interest of the reader. Creative nonfiction is contrasted with "research nonfiction" which may contain accurate information, but may not be particularly well written and may not hold the attention of the reader very well.

Forms of creative nonfiction can include essays, diaries, autobiography, biographies, magazine writing, travel writing, nature writing, science writing, histories, journalism, and the memoir.

Narrative nonfiction is a type of creative nonfiction which tells a story, for example, Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. Black Hawk Down began as a series of newspaper and Internet articles. Its availability as an Internet series gave the author the benefit of extensive feedback from viewers. Bob Woodward of the Washington Post is also noted for his skills at narrative nonfiction, in books like All the President's Men and Bush at War.

There has been a recent movement among younger writers in the craft to adopt a more liberal meaning of the term "creative nonfiction". Some writers consider certain forms, most notably poetry, to be an acceptable form of creative nonfiction in certain cases. For example, works by L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poets - such as Lyn Hejinian's My Life, based in the structures of memoir while formally being linkages of separate poems - may be considered by some as creative nonfiction, or the total opposite by others. While these debates may not be resolved anytime soon, they do indicate that creative nonfiction is a growing and developing genre.

Noted practitioners of creative nonfiction

Noted practitioners of creative nonfiction include

Ethics and creative nonfiction

In recent years, there have been a rash of incidents within the United States that have tarnished the reputation of creative nonfiction in terms of its (perceived) loose rein on journalistic ethics and standards, or its glorification of interpretation. The most recent example of these incidents is the James Frey controversy in regards to his memoir A Million Little Pieces. In his memoir, Frey claimed to certain experiences, which later were revealed to be fabrications.

The genre of creative nonfiction has often come under attack from pundits who believe that the genre is laden with the types of falsifications that were revealed in Frey's work. Often, however, this is not the case, as creative nonfiction writers often work for institutions with high journalistic intregrity before, during, or after their work in the genre. It is not uncommon for many prominent creative nonfiction works to even be published directly, or be adaptations of one's own work for industriously ethical publications like The New Yorker (for example, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, or Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief). However, the issue of ethics is an important one that creative nonfiction must continue to address as it grows.

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